SKY · DEEP-SKY · GREECE
Deep-Sky Objects Tonight — Athens
Tonight from Athens, the best-placed deep-sky showpiece is Great Hercules Cluster (M13), riding about 80° up in the eastern sky. Here's the full list of galaxies, nebulae and clusters worth hunting from Athens tonight — and how dark a sky each one needs.
The Moon is nearly out of the way — dark skies for faint objects.
Best placed over Athens tonight
Ranked by how high each climbs in tonight's dark sky from Athens. The higher an object is, the less atmosphere you look through — and the better it shows.
The finest globular cluster for northern observers — a fuzzy ball of hundreds of thousands of stars. In Hercules.
A bright spring globular with half a million stars — a fine binocular and small-scope target. In Canes Venatici.
A face-on spiral with a companion — its spiral arms are visible in a modest telescope from a dark site. In Canes Venatici.
A tiny, perfect smoke ring — the glowing shell of a dying star; a small-telescope favourite. In Lyra.
A bright spiral galaxy near the Big Dipper, paired with M82 in the same binocular field. In Ursa Major.
A bright planetary nebula, an easy and rewarding binocular and small-scope target. In Vulpecula.
An edge-on galaxy with a dark dust lane like a hat brim — a small-telescope classic. In Virgo.
A dense, rich open cluster shaped like a flight of ducks — lovely in binoculars. In Scutum.
Home of the famous "Pillars of Creation"; the surrounding cluster is an easy binocular sight. In Serpens.
A delicate nebula split by dark dust lanes, near the Lagoon in the rich Sagittarius star fields. In Sagittarius.
A bright nebula in the heart of the Milky Way — superb in binoculars from a dark southern-sky view. In Sagittarius.
One of the brightest globular clusters, low in the south for northern observers. In Sagittarius.
A swarm of stars filling a binocular field; a faint haze to the naked eye under dark skies. In Cancer.
A bright, sprawling star cluster low in the southern Milky Way — naked-eye from dark skies. In Scorpius.
A compact, bright autumn globular cluster, easy to find off the Great Square of Pegasus. In Pegasus.
The nearest big galaxy — a faint elongated smudge to the naked eye from a dark sky, the most distant thing most people ever see unaided. In Andromeda.
Out of reach from Athens tonight
These showpieces are either below Athens's horizon during tonight's dark hours, or never rise from this latitude at all — useful to know before you go looking.
Athens right now
Faint galaxies and nebulae need a genuinely dark, cloudless, Moonless sky — a quick check of tonight's cloud cover and the stargazing verdict for Athenstells you whether it's worth the trip out of town.
More sky over Athens
SEE IT ON THE MAP
Watch the day/night line over Athens to plan your dark-sky window.